


Victory Fanfare

by oubastet



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 11:16:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11379093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oubastet/pseuds/oubastet
Summary: Arriving in Gralea, Prompto hopes to make a quick reunion with his friends.Yet nothing is ever so easy.[set between the end of the ep prompto dlc and his obvious capture]





	Victory Fanfare

**Author's Note:**

> how dare they not show us the rest of the goods.  
> i need to stop writing ch 13 nonsense but it's my fuel.
> 
> anyway i loved ep prompto so much, i was dead  
> so here's a small fic

The snow wafted around him, the occasional gust of wind sending a chill through Prompto’s body even through his jacket. Bringing his facemask up, he held back a cough and spurred the snowmobile further on. The capital glowed faintly in the distance, and he hoped his vehicle would get him close enough without running out of gas. Aranea, ever amazing, had packed an extra can just in case of that happening.

Gralea was immense, and the black metal glistened against the snow. Zegnautus Keep towered above it all, intimidating simply to look at. Prompto wondered if Noctis and the others had arrived already, and urged the snowmobile faster. His heartbeat quickened every minute, the anticipation of seeing Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio keeping his eyes open and alert. Mind made up, he was going to tell them everything. About where he came from, what he was… It was still crippling to think about their reactions, but he couldn’t hide it; not anymore.

Unable to tell how much time had passed, given the much shorter days, Prompto finally arrived at the gates to the city. He could tell there were other entrances, but this had been the closest one after coming from the Research Facility in the mountains. Abandoning his snowmobile, he gave it a pat on the seat, grateful for its assistance in getting here. The city was much warmer, too warm, so he changed out of his winter gear, keeping the guns he had carried from before. Still unable to summon anything with Noctis’s powers, he would need to save his bullets. Didn’t know if there would be any caches around to reload.

The air tickled his skin with foreboding, and the streets were dark aside from the lamps along the sidewalk. Some of them flickered, reminding Prompto of a horror game. Shadows warped and moved, signaling the presence of Daemons, and the sound of rouge MTs trailing their metals axes made Prompto shiver. As much as he had come to terms with himself, he could barely control the fear of running into a red-lit rouge MT running at him with outstretched claws.

Rifle ready, Prompto walked through the Nifilheim capital, heading straight towards the middle. That had to be where the crystal was being held, it just looked way too important of a place. Something scuttled across the road, and Prompto aimed his gun, catching the sight of a goblin running into the next alleyway. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and he was grateful, seeing as he didn’t want to alert every daemon to the delicious snack walking alone.

Reaching the base of the keep, Prompto saw an MT code door panel, and raised his arm up, flinching as it beeped. The door opened, and he stepped into a small elevator. Pressing the up button, the doors closed, and the elevator lurched upwards. Leaning against the wall, Prompto looked down at his wrist. It was an ugly reminder, one he was still silently agonizing over. He knew Noctis would think nothing less of him, but then again… Nifilheim had ruined everything for them and taken so much away.

The elevator finally stopped, and Prompto strode out of it. He made his way down the hall, going up some stairs until he came to a room with screens. 3 other doors cubed this one, just from what he could see on the nearby map. Going up to the screens, he tried pressing some buttons but nothing happened. He looked around for something that had some kind of scanner, and didn’t see any. This must be only reserved for… actual people employees. He frowned.

“Oh, how good of you to join us.” A voice chuckled suddenly, startling him.

Spinning around, Prompto brought his gun up, pointing it right at Ardyn’s head.

“Congratulations! You mad it all the way here, all by your very lonesome. I see your learned how to use that nifty little thing on your arm.” Teased ardyn, beginning to circle around Prompto, who continued to have his gun trained right at the chancellor.

“This… is all your fault.” Growled Prompto, anger overriding the rest of his emotions. “Everything that’s happened… is all because of you!”

“Oh, dear boy, you give me far too much credit! I just… gave everyone a nudge in the right direction.” Laughed Ardyn, obviously too pleased with the current situation. “Ah, I can see your knees shake, you poor thing… Acting all brave for my sake, or yours?” He drawled out the question, narrowing his eyes.

“I should just kill you right now and save Noct the trouble.” Spat Prompto, fingers tightening on the gun in his hand. He noticed Ardyn’s grin twitch higher, and steadied his stance again.

“The chosen king, hmm? Dear Noctis is on his way.” Ardyn spoke slowly, seemingly just trying to get a reaction out of Prompto now.

“Of course he is. The crystal is here isn’t it?” Prompto narrowed his eyes.

Ardyn gave a “tsk” gesture with his finger a few times, stopping his circling to stand in front of the larger wall of monitors. He put a hand behind him, pulling a lever and bringing it down. The screen buzzed, and a long hallway showed, a glowing point at the end of it. It was the crystal, and Ardyn had just put up a barrier to block the way to the prize. Grinding his teeth in frustration, Prompto took a step forward.

“If you want to lead me by the hand so badly, why don’t you let me turn that off?”

“I’m not leading you by the hand, but all of your little friends. I have another idea in mind for you.” Said the chancellor with a smile, letting out a chuckle. “I must admit, I was surprised when you stayed behind with that woman to finally put an end to daddy dearest. But it all worked out in the end, hmm?”

“I had to do it… There was no way I was letting that thing go after the rest of the world. Or Noct.” Explained Prompto, feeling his chest swell with something like pride. He had helped Noctis, and even though his friend didn’t know it, it was something good.

“Do you even care about what your Lucis friends will think of you?”

“I am Lucian! I may have been born here…. But it’s not my home! It’s with Noctis in Lucis!”

Lip trembling slightly, Prompto reaffirmed what had been going through his head for the past few days. It felt better to say it now, though, and he was confident in what he wanted. Nifilhiem wasn’t anything but his place of birth. Insomnia may have been destroyed, but his place to belong, always, was with Noctis.

“Well, where’s all the fun in this now.” Came Ardyn’s bored response, and suddenly, Prompto was on the ground, a hand at his throat.

“Gah!” He could feel Ardyn’s gloved hand constrict itself around his neck, crushing.

“I was planning on sending Noctis on a little chase for you, but… I’ll probably just tempt him with you to find… The look on his face will be priceless, every time he thinks he’s found you… only to be deceived.”

Prompto’s vision went white and he gasped for air, barely hearing a word Ardyn was saying. After a few moments, he could see Ardyn smirk above him and let go. The air rushed back into his lungs, he coughed, but was unable to keep his eyes open and he saw black.

====

Prompto stared at his hands, seeing the red marks and sores all over them. The bed he was on was soft, and he hadn’t felt something soft in weeks it seemed. Trudging through the snow, sneaking around the research facility, traveling and almost immediately getting captured had denied him respite. It was a relief, but his heart and mind were plagued with discomfort. Another weight sat on the bed but Prompto didn’t turn. Noctis’s voice spoke softly then, sounding hurt.

“I’m… sorry.”

“For what?”

They exchanged a few words, and prompto tried to lighten the mood, but the seriousness of Noctis’s words made him sense the gravity of the conversation. It surprised him to hear Noctis talk to kingly, but then fold his arms like he usually did, with a small embarrassed frown. Prompto got up then, scrambling across the cot to sit close next to Noctis. The young king immediately took Prompto hand in his own, staring down at it, observing all the new blemishes with furrowed eyebrows. He rubbed a thumb over the back of Prompto’s hand, leaning his head on the other man’s shoulder.

“I’m gonna make the world a better place. You with me?” He asked quietly, eyes closed.

Taken aback suddenly, Prompto’s head dipped as his chin chell to his chest. But he brought it up, and nodded once. “Uh-huh. Ever at your side.”

Noctis then let out a chuckle, unmoving as he pointed out, “That sounds like a proposal.”

Flushing, Prompto bit his lip. He had just said the first thing that came to mind, but it wasn’t wrong. He’d go to the ends of the earth if he could follow Noctis, that was fact.

“Can I take it as a proposal?” Asked Noctis suddenly, raising his head to look right at prompto, who simply blinked like a chocobo in the headlights. It seemed Noctis’s attention went elsewhere suddenly, and he moved his head closer.

“I don’t know why I never noticed how bright your eyes are.”

“M-my eyes? They’re… normal.” And technically a copy of someone else's’... Prompto mused silently to himself afterwards, resisting the urge to look away.

“They’re nice. Not blue like mine, maybe a little purple. Indigo?”

“You’re just being nice.”

“No, really. They kind of sparkle.”

“Astrals, Noct, stop being sappy.” Laughed Prompto, reveling in the feeling of how light he felt. Talking like this with Noctis was healing all in itself, and he wished he had more courage to tell Noctis all of his most handsome and beautiful points. It was a little embarrassing still.

“I don’t just like you for your face. Hell, that’s hardly why I really like you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know why you really like me. I can open special doors.”

And they both laughed.


End file.
